Authorities Believe Money Was Motive In Death Of Fort Bragg Soldier

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The wife of a Fort Bragg Special Operations officer has been charged in his shooting death. Police believe she killed her husband for insurance money.

Joan Shannon, 35, is being held in the Cumberland County Jail without bond. She is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of Maj. David Shannon, 40.

Fayetteville police arrested Joan Shannon at a hotel on Fort Bragg late Tuesday night. Police believe financial gain is one of the primary motives of the crime.

"The possibility of what we're talking about is not only the what military has offered, but also some private insurance as well," said Sgt. Alex Thompson of the Fayetteville Police Department.

Police have also issued a petition charging a 15-year-old in the soldier's death. The warrant names the juvenile as a principal to the crime of murder and conspiracy. The juvenile is not yet in custody.

On July 23, police found David Shannon shot to death in the bedroom of his Galloway Drive home, near Fort Bragg. Around 3 a.m.,
when the shooting occured, the couple, three of their children and a teenage friend were in the home.

Police said David Shannon was shot in the chest and head as he slept. They said Joan Shannon blamed the shooting on an intruder.

"She said she heard two shots and she awoke to see an intruder running from the bedroom," Thompson said.

Police said there was no evidence of a break-in at the home in the Cottonade subdivision.

David Shannon, who served in the U.S. Army since 1987, was assigned to the Army's Special Operations Command. He had been stationed at Fort Bragg for two years.

Neighbors in the Cottonade subdivision described Maj. Shannon as a family man.

"He always met his two kids from the school bus when they came home," neighbor Arlester McCray said.

His death is the most recent of five domestic violence killings involving Fort Bragg soldiers since mid-June.